Seniors can't cope with taxes and inflation

In analyzing the recent decision that our Brick elected officials chose to raise our property taxes again, I firmly believe that they are really trying to eliminate the senior citizens in our community. Along with the Board of Education and the county taxes that are also being raised, the senior citizens will be filing bankruptcy shortly.

A study made by a Professor Warner from Harvard University discovered that in the year 1990, five percent (55 and over) of seniors were forced to file for bankruptcy. In the year 2006, over 25 percent of seniors were forced to file. What will it be for the year 2009?

Our elected officials continue to give raises in contracts for three years not knowing where the money will come from. I wonder if they ever heard of the word no and refuse to give in to the unions. These elected officials are supposed to protect the taxpayer and not the unions.

Senior citizens comprise about 45 percent of the taxpaying public and are the ones that pay their taxes on time. But we all have a limit. How can we pay these outrageous taxes when our income is limited? Our average cost-of-living allowance (COLA) benefits are only at 2.3 percent, but the inflation cost is over 10 percent. Food has doubled in the last year, fuel oil has tripled and electric is being raised 28 percent. Where is the money going to come from to pay these increases?

If the elected officials had done their jobs properly, this would not have happened. Years ago, raises were given in what the city had left over from the previous year. And in order to stabilize the cost of running the city, the elected officials would go out and find businesses to locate in their area so that taxes were minimized to the taxpayer. No judge would dare to order the public to pay more in taxes when they don't have the money.

Recently, the officials of the Garden State Parkway announced that they have lost $30 million due to less traffic and they intend to raise the tolls to compensate for the loss. This increase will only mean less traffic and, therefore, they will lose more money. So all that remains is their bankruptcy. Is this what the senior citizen is going to look forward to?

As of now, fuel oil has dropped approximately 23 percent from its high of $147 per barrel. It will go down more, but will the prices for our commodities go down?

COLA benefits will probably rise to 3 percent for the coming year but that will not compensate for the 10 percent inflation cost. After this notification becomes public in the coming year, fuel oil will increase to over $150 per barrel and we will have another increase in prices.

Pray tell me, how can any senior citizen survive? What will our elected officials do to help the seniors — give out more raises!

Brick is presently being reassessed and that will mean that almost every landowner will see another raise in taxes. This is what our elected representatives will do to us. And the answer they will give us is that they need more money to run the city. But they really don't know how.
Raymond Bulwicz
Brick